Method of spot-welding



June 19, 1945. w. AJWEIGHTMAN METHOD OF SPOT WELDING Original Filed Aug. 25, 1959 ll Sheets-Sheet l mm w Ta N Nm R ..ELL 0 W mm A M g fl a Qqmmh :m i W June 19, 1945- w. A. WEIGH'ILMAN ,7

METHOD OF SPOT WELDING Original Filed Aug. 25, 1939 11 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR William FLWeightman.

ATTORNEY June 19, 1945.

w. A. WEIGHTMAN 2,378,741

METHOD OF SPOT WELDING Original Filed Aug. 25, 1939 ll Sheets-Sheet 3 lllllllllm I l v N l/EN TOR WLUiam AWeiqhfman yam/1M ATTORNEY J1me 1945- w. A. WEIGHTMAN .METHOD OF SPOT WELDING Original Filed Aug. '25; 1959 11 Sheets-Sheet 4 W9 i Q2 Q2 62 Q2 & 02 53 m2 INVENTOR William Aweiqhcman,

ATTORNEY J 1945- w. A. WEIGHTMAN METHOD OF SPOT WELDING Original Filed Aug. 25, 1959 11 Sheets-Sheet s W i. i. f m .0 C I INVENTOR William AW iqhrmcm. BY 904v A-TTORNEY Jun 1945- w. A. WEIGHTMAN 2,378,741

METIjOD OF SPOT WELDING Original Filed Aug. 25, 1939 11 Sheets-Sheet 6 INVENTOR W'LLLLam Aweiqhcmclnk ARM ATTORNEY June 1945. w. A. WEIGHTMAN METHOD OF SPOT WELDING Original Filed Aug. 25, 1939 ll Sheets-Sheet 7 I l/llII/IIIIII/Illtln lNl/ENTOR William QWeighfman.

BY 9 1 ATTORNEY June 19, 1945.

w. A. WEI'GHTMAN 2,378,741

METHOD OF SPOIT WELDING Original Filed Aug. 25, 1959 ll Sheets-Sheet 8 INVENTOR William AWeighcmcm.

ATTORNEY Julie ,1

A. WEIGHTMAN METHOD OF SPOT WELDING I Original Filed Aug. 25, 1939 ll Sheets-Sheet 9 IlIIIIII/IIIIIIII INVENTOR W'LU'Lam ARA/eight man.

ATTORNEY June 19, 1945.

W. A. WEIGHTMAN METHOD OF SPOT WELDING Original Filed Aug. 25, 1939 ll Sheets-Sheet 10 R Y Z M Nm .R W W L T A/A W'LummAW By 9-4 z June ,1 w. A. WEIGHTMAN 7 2,378,741

METHOD OF SPOT WELDING Original Filed Aug. 25, 1939 ll Sheets-Sheet 11 I N VE N TOR. WLLLLcm AWeigncman.

5 y M/YLJH A TTOR'NE Y Fatentecl June 19, 1945 METHOD OF SPOT-WELDING William A. Welghtman, Philadelphia, Pa., sssignor to Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company, Phlladelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Original application August 25, 1939, Serial No. 291,838. Divided and this application June 18, 1942, Serial No. 447,495

3 Claims.

The invention relates to a method of and a system for spot welding which is especially adapted for structures having a number of closely spaced welds.

The invention relates more specifically to the production of heavy sheet metal beams, for example of box section, wherein the parts are secured by a plurality of spot welds-substantially uniformly spaced along the length of the beam, and particularly to apparatus therefor.

The invention is an improvement over the apparatus and procedure described and disclosed in the copending application Serial No. 143,60i), filed May 19, 1937, which has now eventuated into Patent No. 2,229,993, dated January 28, 1941.

The apparatus forming the subject matter of the aforementioned application comprises a machine ter the rapid production of frame members composed of a flanged channel member and a cover plate, the two being secured together by a plurality of closely spaced spot welds between the flanges and the cover plate along the length thereof. The frame member forming the particular subject matter of the disclosure is adapted for use in automotive vehicle frames and, as will be well understood in the art, such frame members are not necessarily straight and from time to time are designed with various curvatures to accommodate various elements or" an automotive vehicle which support the frame or which the frame supports. With the acceptance of such frame members for use in the automotive field as above described, increased thickness of the members forming a part thereof has been found desirable for use in heavier vehicles requiring the use of heavier welding pressures than tioned application. Since the motive power for obtaining the welding pressure is derived fromiiuid pressure through the use of cylinders and pistons, either an increase in pressure of the fluid would be necessary to increase the welding pressure, or else an increase in cylinder diameter would he required. The extent to which pressur may he increased may be limited by various mechanical considerations. The increase in the diameter of cylinders where a plurality are closely spaced to effect a plurality of welds results in an increase in spacing of those welds. Further, where the curvature of the member-in which welds are to be efiected is considerable and the welds are made with the axis normal to the curvatures, the presence of welding tools or cylinders radially inward of the curvature causes considerable crowding of the welding tools and results in increased spacing between welds.

Considering these factors, the curvature of the beam, the requirement that the curvature of the beam he changed from time to time, and desirability of increased welding pressures, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of. and system for effecting a line of closely spaced spot welds, which method or system may be flexible inthat it can be changed without great difficulty to accommodate changes in curvature, in

v quiring high welding tip pressures.

Another object of the'invention is to provide a method and a system especially adapted for the formation of a plurality of spot welds closely spaced on a curved member where the axis of the spot welds is normal to the curvature.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a method and system entailing equipment having great accessibility'for adjustment, replacement of parts liable to wear as well as for loading and unloading.

Still another object of the invention is to providea. method and system or equipment for effecting a plurality oi. closely spaced welds upon a reversely curved workpiece normal to the curvature thereof, which comprises a plurality of stages or coordinated machines for efiecting welds at a greater spacing in each stage but suhstam tially intermediate the welds of the other stages.

The above and other novel features of the invention will appear more fully hereinafter irom the following detailed description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings. It is expressly understood, however, that the drawings are employed for purposes of illustration only and are not designed as a definitionof the limits of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

in the drawings wherein similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the sev-' eral views: I

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a part of the apparatus termed a press welder and is illustrated in pressed welding position.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through the press welder of Figure 1 substantially through Figure 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing the detail of the press ram.

Figure 4 is a section taken on the line 4--4 of Figure 1 showing the detail of the press ram.

Figure 5 is a section taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 1 showing the detail of the press ram.

Figure 6 is a section taken on the line 6-6 of Figure 1 showing the detail of the table and the support for the welding guns.

Figure 7 is an enlarged fragmental end elevation of the apparatus of Figure 1 illustrating in detail the operating cam mechanism.

Figure 8 is a section taken on the line 8-8 of Figure 7. a

Figure 9 is an end elevation of Figure 7.

Figure 10 is a diagrammatic illustration showing the arrangement of the welding guns upon a workpiece and the position of the welds to be effected thereon at different stages.

Figure 11 illustrates diagrammatically a series of stages for effecting a complete set of welds as illustrated in Figure 10.

Figure 12 is a top plan view of a re-welder adapted for use in any one of the second, third or fourth stages of Figure 11.

Figure 13 is a side elevation of the re-welder of Figure 12.

Figure 14 is another side elevation of Figure 12 illustrating the cam operating mechanism.

Figure 15 is a section taken through the rewelder of Figures 12, 13 and 14 showing the same in loading position.

Figure 16 is a similar section as Figure 15 showing the apparatus in loaded position ready for welding.

Figure 17 is an enlarged section taken on the line l1l1 of Figure 13 illustrating the detail of the table supporting the welding electrodes.

Figure 18 is a section taken on the line l8--l8 of Figure 13 showing further details of the mechanism of Figure 1'7.

Figure 19 is a section taken on the line I9-l9 of Figure 12, and illustrating in detail the talble moving mechanism.

Figure 20 is a section taken on the line 20-20 of Figure 12 showing the arrangement and detail of the welding guns, transformers and welding current connections Figures 21 and 22 are wiring diagrams of the control circuit.

Referring to the drawings and more particuchannel member 32, as illustrated more in detail in Figures 3, 4 and 5. The support members are secured in their various positions by a plate 62 lying on the base member 52 and tie members 64 extending in between adjacent support members 5B. The U-shaped openings are provided with hardened angular cheeks 86 for supporting the channel member adjacent the flanges thereof and the space between the cheeks is so arranged as to closely fit and engage the channel member workpiece. The workpiece is located longitudinally by a hardened abutment 81 located upon the side member 34 of the frame of the machine as illustrated in Figure 2.

As illustrated in Figure 2 the press ram 40 is composed of a main portion having dies 68 and I0 rigidly secured thereto and a central vertically sliding portion 12 having a die I4. To facilitate loading of the machine the central die 14 is provided with two pairs of spring pressed latches 16 which are adapted to catch and hold a cap strip against the die prior to operation of the press ram. To assure proper location of the cap strip with reference to this die, the cap strip is provided with apair of holes which in loading upon the die 'H-must be aligned with pins 18 carried by the die. In loading it will readily appear that the cam surfaces 80 of the latch members 16 are so contoured as to readily cause the latches to open to receive the cap strip as the cap strip is pressed toward engagement with the central die. The central slidable portion of the ram is carried in the main portion of the ram on guides 82, I2 and its movement is limited by a transverse bar 84 extending through the main ram portion and through a slot 85 in the central slidable ram portion. When the press ram is lowered, it will, therefore, appear that the central portion of the ram engages the cap strip with the channel member first and thereafter the remainder of the ram. and its dies 68 and 10 forms the cap strip 30 upon the extremities of the channel member 22. When the ram is moved to full pressure position as is illustrated in Figure 1, the central portion of the ram first takes the position shown in Figure 4 while the main portion of the ram is still in the position shown in the dotted lines. Further lowering of the ram brings the remainder or main larly Figures 1 and 2 thereof, there will be seen a press welding machine adapted to secure a cover plate or cap strip 30 on a flanged channel member 32, the sectional details of which will readily appear in Figures 3, 4 and 5. The machine is composed of a frame-work having uprights 34. and 36 and a transverse top member 38. Slidably positioned between the uprights 34 and 35 and underneath the top member 38 is a press ram 4|! adapted to slide on ways 42 and 44 and adapted to be lifted and lowered by a cylinder 46 in the top member and a piston 48 on the rod 50 connected to the press ram.

In order that considerable pressure in addition to the weight of the press ram may be applied to the workpieces, the top member is held to a.-

base member 52 through heavt tie rods 54 and 56 extending through the uprights as is illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

For the purpose of supporting the channel member 32 in the bottom portion of the machine there is provided on the base member a plurality of support members 58, each having a U-shaped notch 60 in the end thereof adapted to receive the portion of the ram to the position shown in Figure 4 and, as is also shown in Figure 5. The dies l4, l0 and 68 are thus brought into alignment to form the cap strip around the channel member and to hold the same in such position while a number of spot welds are effected. In order that sufficient clearance for the pairs of welding electrodes be left, the cheek portions 66 are arranged in between the welding electrodes and are adapted to align with similar'hardened spaced blocks 89 arranged along the length and lower face of the dies 68, I0 and I4. Alignment of the dies 14, ll and 68 is assured by the engagement of the cross bar 84 with the lower limit 81 of the slot .6 in the central slidable portion of the ram. When the ram is in lowered or press position, it will be observed in Figure 4 that the latch members 18 are opened by reason of their engagement with the flanges 33 of the channel member 32, the latches being so arranged upon the die 14 as to not reach beyond the channel flange. Thus, when the press ram is raised, the latches ride over the cap strip leaving the channel and cap Strip in the slots 60 of the support plates 5!.

Referring to Figure 6 wherein a transverse enlarged section through the lower portion of the machine is illustrated, there will appear a pair guides may be aeva'mi of welding guns 90 and 92 with their welding electrodes arranged in position for effecting a weld between the flange 33 of the channel member 32 and the cap strip 30. It will appear that the welding electrodes so positioned would interfere with the loading of the'channel memberv 62 in its support as well as the lowering of the ram 60 carrying the cap strip 30'thereon. To overcome this interference, the welding guns 90 and 92 are supported on laterally movable tables 9 1 and 96 so that upon loading and unloading of the machine the welding guns can be moved laterally out of the way of the workpiece. As is shown in Figure 1, the table 96 carries a series of welding guns 90 which are secured to the table through a series of shaped support blocks 98, I and I02, each 0f WhiCh support blocks have a flat bottom face I04 for engaging. the table and a contoured upper face I06 for securing the welding guns thereto in a proper position for operation upon the varying curvature of the channel and cap strip workpiece members. All

the welding guns on the one side of the machine are, therefore, carried upon one of the table members 9d and 96 and those on the other side the machine are carried on theother. To support the tables for lateral movement plurality of spaced rollers and guide members are provided as at I06. Each consists of top bottom grooved guide rails H0 and II2, is; ch, as is shown in Figure 18, are held together centrally by a block II 4 which separates g of the guide rails in two parts. Rollers in brackets IIB secured to the tables carried i3 3 and 96 are adapted to run upon the rails H0 l 32, the spacing in the rails being such that only sufficient clearance is provided to prevent a roller from contacting both rails at the same time.

The detailed construction of the block and gathered from Figures 17 and i8 hereinafter referred to more in detail wherein verse arrangement.

similarrollers and guides are provided in reoperative position fluid pressure cylinders arranged in the base and acting on levers are employed. In Figure 6 this mechanism is illustrated some detail and there is shown there a cylinltil having a piston I22 and piston rod M4, the latter being slidably supported in a guide through a pair of links I32 pivoted to the piston rod it; at 134 and to the lever I30 at I36.- The levers are fulcrumed at I38 in journals I40 compaced of spaced plates I42 and I46 adapted to be secured to the vertical transverse frame members i and his. The spaced plates'I42 and I46'have integral journal bosses M2 and I56 for receiving pivot I58 of the lever. Each lever is campus together by a web E84 and the upper ends of the lever are connected to the tables 94 and 96 through an adjustable link I10 pivoted to the lever en. plus W2 and to the-'table through a trunnion l'l l and depending tablebracket I16. The adjustable link ll0'is provided with adjustmentnuts its and H9 between which the trunnion block Ill is adjustably clamped so that the table adjustment is'facilitated. To move each table a cylinder is preferably employed at each end as is illustrated iii-Figures 1 and 2 and in order to assure lateral move ent of the table, means are provided for synchronizing the movement of the two cylinders associated with each of spaced plates I60 and I62 secured gage and mesh with a pinion I82 carried on a shaftI84 which extends along the length of the machine to a similar pinion-and rack associated 'with the other cylinder. As shown in Figure 2,

to accommodate such a mechanism for both pairs of cylinders and both tables, a concentric tubular shaft I86 is provided around the shaft I84 and carries thereon at either end pinions I88 and I89 adapted to engage and mesh with racks associated with the pistons of the cylinders adapted for operating the other table.

On each table, as has previously been described, are arranged blocks 98, I00 and I02 having an upper contour I06 corresponding to some extent with the shape of the frame member or workpiece and welding guns are secured to these blocks in proper position for effecting the necessary welds. Also carried on each table are a pair of bus bars I90 and I92 supported on brackets I94, which bus bars are connected to stationary transformer leads I95 and #96 through flexible conductors I98. Since the welding guns themselves, 90 and 92, are of the floating variety as willhereinafter be described, they are connected to the bus bars.

rapid succession. During the engagementof the work by one gun the remaining five guns are out of engagement with the workso that upon energizing the welding transformer for that particular group and the bus bars, welding current will flow to only the one gun in engagement with the work. The apparatus in practiceis adapted to effect a weld in the interval of one second and each gun, assuming a sixty cycle alternating current is employed-is adapted to engage the work in ten cycles, to be energized with a Welding current for a period of fifteen to twenty cycles, dur-. ing which period the bus bars are energized from the welding transformer, and thereafter the welda Geneva movement, a valve operating shaft 2I6.

This valve operating shaft 2I6 extends through the length of the machine and drives through gears 220 and 222, (see Fig. 7) and bevel gears 224 and 226 pairs of cam shafts 228, 230, 232 and. 232 located on each end of the machine, a total of four cam shafts in number. The speed of the motor 2I0 and the Geneva movement is such as to drive the cam shafts 228-234 at the rate of one revolution in ten seconds and in ten separate equal steps. The Geneva movement is such as to drive the cam shafts 228-234 onetenth of a. revolution at a. time in the space of during the intervening three-quarters of a second period. The timer shaft 2, Fig. 6, carries a cam 218 which is, adapted to operate through a welding timer, control switch 2i9 to effect the energization of all the welding transformers 284 at the same time. The Geneva movement which drives the shaft H6 and the cam shafts 228 to 234 may be of any preferred form, one example of which is illustrated in the copending application hereina'bove referred to.

Each of the cam shafts 228 to 234 is provided with six valve operating cams 236 spaced along the length of the shaft and with the cams arranged at angles of 36 degrees from one another, and when each shaft is in a rest position as results from the stationary interval provided by the Geneva movement, a cam engages one of the valve followers 238 to effect engagement of a welding gun and its electrodes with the work. For each pair of welding guns on opposite sides of the workpiece a single valve is provided and thus since there are six pairs of welding guns in each section, six valves and six cams are required to operate the guns of any one section. For this reason the cam shafts 228-234 are four in number so as to provide a separate cam shaft for controlling the guns of the four sections.

Referring to Figures '1. 8 and 9, it will appear that the cam shafts 228 and 238 are geared together as at 24!, and are supported from the uprights 34 and 36 of the main frame of the machine and journaled in bearings 242, one carried upon a combined air manifold and bracket member 244, supported on a channel member 246 directly secured to the uprights and the other being located in the gear box housing 243. Also carried upon the air manifold and bracket members 244 are the valves 248 which, as is illustrated in Figure 7, are adapted to be secured upon the face 248 of the bracket 244 and each valve is adapted to cover and connect with ports 258 appearing in the face 248 and connecting with a longitudinal bore 252 extending through the bracket 244, the ports 258 and the bore 252 constituting a manifold for supplying compressed air to the valves 248. The manifolds are connected to a compressed air line through pipes 254 as is illustrated in Figure 7.

In order to provide the rapid engagement of the welding electrodes with the work as well as rapid separation therefrom after welding, each welding gun is provided with a double acting cylinder and piston, and each valve 248 is adapted when actuated by its associated cam 236 to admit compressed air into the associated pair of welding gun cylinders to effect engagement of the welding electrodes with the work and at the same time to connect the opposite end of the cylinder to exhaust. Additionally, each valve when not actuated by its associated cam 236 is adapted to supply the opposite end of the cylinder with compressed air to effect immediate separation of the electrodes and at the same time to connect the other end of the cylinder to exhaust. Any suitable valve may be provided for this purpose as will be well understood in the art and the details thereof are not illustrated for they form no part by themselves of the present invention. In the form of valve shown as will appear in Figure 8 at 248, the rocker shaft or cam follower 238 is adapted to actuate the valve operating pins 256 and 258 to effect the functioning of the valve as has hereinabove been described and the cam follower is caused to maintain its engagement with its associated cam 236 by a spring return 268. Each valve is provided with its individual exhaust 262 and is connected to its associated pair of welding electrodes through pipes 264 and 266 which connect to the pairs of cylinders as will be hereinafter described more iii detail in connection with the structure of the welding guns.

It will appear from the above that six-tenths of the revolution of each cam shaft is employed for operating the various valves and welding guns leaving four-tenths of the revolution for control function. For this purpose the cam shaft 228 is extended'beyond the bearing 242 as is illustrated at 268 and is provided with a pair of cams 218 and 212 which are adapted to automatically control the operation of the machine subsequent to the formation of all the welds. The earn 218 for example actuates a switch 214 through the cam follower 216, which switch interrupts the motor driving the Geneva movement and valve operating cam shafts. Also upon interrupting the motor circuit the brake 2 is applied. The cam 212 acts prior to cam 218, and through a follower 218 operates a valve 288 to automatically cause the movable tables and the ram to open up the machine for removal of the workpiece after all welds have been completed.

For an understanding of the control exercised by the valve 288 over the operation of the machine, the control mechanism will now be described. As has previously been set forth, the ram operating cylinder and piston are operated by fluid pressure derived from a pump 282 which delivers preferably oil under pressure through a check valve 284 to a control valve 286. The control valve is adapted to connect the source of fluid pressure to either the top or the bottom of the cylinder through pipe lines 288 and 288, respectively, and at the same time connect the pipe line 288 or 288, respectively, to the discharge pipe line 292 which is connected to the reservoirs 294 and from which reservoirs the pump 282 receives its fluid through pipes 296.

To actuate the ram through the cylinder and piston 46 and 48, a manual lever 288 is provided in an accessible position upon the frame upright 36, which lever is connected to the valve 288 through links 388 and 382 and bell crank 884. Thus by manual? operating the valve 288 to the position shown in full lines, fluid pressure will flow from the pump into the top of the cylinder 46 forcing the piston 48 downward and discharging the fluid from the bottom of the cylinder through the valve 286 into the reservoirs 284. By employing a suitable restriction in line 288 I the rate at which the ram lowers may be re ulated andafter being lowered into position considerable pressure may be applied thereto by the pressure of the fluid in the cylinder on the top side of the piston 48. When the ram is lifted by actuation of the valve 286 to a position to the left of that shown, fluid pressure is admitted to the lower side of the piston 48 and the ram thereby raised. If the valve is left in this position, the ram is prevented from lowering by reason of the check valve 284 which prevents liquid from escaping from the lower part of the cylinder through the valve 286 through the pump 282 which might, for some reason, be stopped and otherwise in the absence of the check valve 284 permit leakage of the fluid back into the reservoir 294 and allow the ram to drop.

As the ram lowers, it is desirable to eflect'lateral movement of the tables 94 and 88 as the ram completes its downward movement, and for pletion of the welds.

this purpose a toggle cam 366 is provided on the ram as illustrated in Figure 1 and which cam is adapted to actuate a valve 308 carried upon the guide 44 on the upright 36. The valve 308 is connected to a valve operating cylinder 309 for the manually operable valve 3l0, which latter valve is adapted to distribute air'pressure to either end of thetable, moving cylinders I20 to effect lateral movement of the tables in one direction or the other. Thus, upon operation of the valve 368, the valve 3l0 is actuated to supply fluid pressure to the inner ends of the cylinders I20 through the pipe line 3l2, thereby effecting movement of the tables toward one another and positioning the guns 90 and 92 in proper relation to the workpiece to be welded.

As the table 94 moves to its inner limit, the

cam operated switch 32I is closed (see Fig. 6) to start the motor 2H1, and the valve operating cam shaft. 2

Also as the ram approaches its lower limit the switch 3!!! (see Fig. 1) is actuated, to close the circuit to the welding timer, and without which closure, all welding current is cut ofi and when theram lifts, such switch is again opened, thereby cutting ofi'all welding current from the timer.

Upon completion of the welds to be effected as has been described in conjunction with the cam shafts illustrated in Figure 7, the valve 280 is operated by the cam 212 on the extension 268 on the cam shaft 228. Through a second valve operating cylinder manually operable lever 298 to automatically effeet shifting of the valve 286 which controls the ram lifting and lowering cylinder 46 and the control cylinder 3 is connected with the valve 288 3 associated with the manual operable valve 3M and connected to valve 280 through pipe 3l5, the valve 3"! is actuated to its through the pipe line 3H for operationsimultaneous with the valve 3 I 0.

In order to remove theworkpiece from the machine upon the raising of the ram, there is provided a pair of upright ejecting cylinders 320 carried in the base of the frame of the machine, which cylinder have piston driven ejecting pins I as particularly shown in Figure 6.

an adapted to reciprocate through guides 324 in the workpiece Support structure and engage the workpiece to lift the same out of the U- shaped supporting members 58. Since the U- shaped supporting members are adapted to form the channel member to ,the correct box section 0 upon the lowering of the ram, at which time the channel member is forced to seat in the guide members 58, considerable friction may be present between the channel member and the guide support member thereby necessitating the forceful ejection of the channel member after com- A suitable foot operated valve 326, as illustrated in Figure 1, is connected line 328 and in practice the operator may actuate the valve 326 after the ram raises or just prior thereto, andin the latter case it will be understood that the channel member is thereby ejected simultaneously with the raising of the ram.

Because of theheavy thickness of the parts to be welded, and to supply suflicient welding pres- 'tion of the channel three-eighths and to obtain suflicient pressure as has been heretofore set forth, the welding guns must have a distance between centers of roughly from four to five and one-half inches and, as shown in Figure 10, with such a spacing, the width of an individual gun may be approximately two and three-fourths or three inches and thus the guns may have suflicient clearance between 'one another so as not to interfere with one another where it is necessary to arrange the guns for operation in conjunction with a curved pormember such as indicated by the reference numeral 336 in Figure 1. Thus to effect the full number of welds upon a given member where the spacing between welds is less than that permissible by the welding guns, rewelders are employed to effect the remaining intermediate welds. For example, in Figure 10 the welding guns 9!) may be three adjacent guns such as are arranged upon the press welder of Figure 1 and theguns are adapted to effect welds 332, 334, 336, etc., and, the welds upon the opposite side of the channel member, 333, 335, etc., are effected by similar guns which are arranged in pairs upon the other side of the channel as has been clearly illustrated and described in conjunction with Figure 6. The intermediate welds such as 338, 340, etc., may be effected in the second stage of welding in a re-welder and the other intermediate welds 342, 346, 348, etc., may be effected in a third stage in a second re-welder and the welds 350, 352, etc., maybe effected in a fourth stage and a third re-welder. It will be understood'that the welds upon the opposite side of the channel member may be formed at the same time by pairing the guns as has been described in conjunction with the press welder and In Figure 11 there has been diagrammatically illustrated a suitable arrangement for a press welder and rewelders for effecting all the welds in four stages. Referring to Figure 11, the press welder is illustrated at 354 and the first stage of re-welding is illustrated at 356 and the second and third stages illustrated at 358 and 360, respectively. It will be observed from Figure 11 that the channelmember may have a lateral bend as illustrated at 362 as well as vertical curvature as has been referred to in conjunction with the press welder hereinmembers for automotive vehicles where such a lateral offset is required two sets of press welders and re-welders will be necessary in order to handle the right and left-hand workpieces or frame members but for simplifying the disclosure herein but a single series of stages will be descliiibed for producing one of o y.

Referring to Figures 12 through 20, there is the frame members 444 adapted to roll in illustrated in detail a re-welder adapted for use in any one of the three stages following the press welder stage. In some respects the re-welder is quite similar to the press welder but since there is no forming of the cap strip to be effected and since the channel member and cap piece arrive at'the re-welder secured together by a plurality of welds although widely spaced, the press features including the ram are not present. As illustrated in Figures 13 and 14, each re-welder has a frame composed of spaced uprights 488, 482, 484, 486, 488 and 8 tied together by longitudinally extending frame members 2 and 4H and transverse members such as 418. Extending centrally through the length of the machine is a work support member 8 consisting of a thin upstanding plate provided with a top edge 428 having spaced cleats 422. The top edge 428 has a contour complemental to the shape of the beam or workpiece to be supported thereby and also has such a lateral offset as is necessary to align the same with the lateral offset (as referred to in connection with Fig. 11) of the workpiece. As illustrated in Figure 12, a plurality of pairs of welding guns 88 and 82 are spacedly arranged along the length of the apparatus and in a posit1on adjacent the workpiece to effect such welds as may be desired in the particular stage. The welding guns are identical to those employed in the press welder previously and hereinabove described and the details thereof will appear hereinafter.

The welding guns are arranged on' tables 424, and 426 and such spacing blocks as 428, 438, 432, 434 as may be necessary to support the guns in proper relation to the contour of the frame member or workpiece to be accommodated. The table 424 may be rigid with the machine as distinguished from the tables 88 and 88 of the press welder but the table 428 is laterally movable to permit placing the workpiece within and removing the workpiece from the machine. The necessity for moving but one table in the present instance arises from the fact that no pressing operation of the parts occurs in re-welding and therefore it is not necessary that the workpiece be inserted by a. pure vertical movement but may be inserted by a vertical movement and then laterally slid into place. Thus the movable table 426 may be moved through adistance proportionately greater or a distance equivalent 'to the movement of both tables in the press welder. This feature is illustrated in Figures 15 and 16 wherein the relative positions of the tables and their welding guns and the work support 418 and the workpieces are illustrated both in the welding position and in the loading and unloading position.

The movable table 426 is provided with opposed spaced roller guides 438 and 488 (Figs. 17 and 18) at four spaced points along the table, the guides'being secured in spaced relation by an interposed central block 448. Rollers 442 and the guides 488 and 438 are carried in roller bearing blocks 448 secured to the frame members 416 and associated frame plates 448. The bearing blocks may have a pin or bolt intermediate the roller bearings extending through a slot ,458 in the guide block between the guides 436 and 438, the slot being particularly arranged to limit the lateral movement of the table in either direction. It will also be observed that the rollers have a diameter substantially that of the distance between the spaced parallel guides but that just sufllcient clearance is provided so that either roller will engage only one of the guides at any one time and thus avoid any interference.

Lateral movement of the table is effected by a pair of cylinders and pistons 452 as shown in Figures 14 and 19. Eachcyllnder and piston has a piston rod 454 and is geared to the other piston rod through racks 456 and pinions 458 fixed to the ends of a shaft 488 extending longitudinally of the machine from one rack to the other. Each piston rod 454 at its extreme end extends into a fixed guide 482 and through a pair of links 484 acts upon a short table operating lever 466' fulcrumed at 488 in a bearing bracket 418. The lever 468 is connected by an adjustable link 412 to a pivoted block 414 carried in a depending bracket 418 secured to the mov able table 428. To move the table to operative position air pressure is admitted to the righthand end of the cylinders 452 through a pipe line 418 leading to a manually operable valve 488 (see Fig. 14) and to separate the table air pressure is admitted to the left-hand side of the cylinder (Figure 19) through pipe line 482 also leading to the manual valve 488.

To rigidly secure the workpiece in proper lateral position after resting the same upon the support member 418 and its transverse cleats 422, the table 424 is provided with a plurality of spaced arms 484 (see Figs. 15 and 16) having projections 488 adapted to engage the top side of one of the flanges of the'workpiece. The movable table 428 is provided with similar arms 488 with projections 488 adapted to engage the upper side of the other flange of the channel of the workpiece. Thus as is illustrated in Figures 15 and 16 upon the movement of the table 428 towards table 424 the projections 488 and 488 approach the workpiece and securely position and 40 hold the same during the subsequent welding operations.

To effect the welds, the welding guns 8!] and 82 are arranged in flve sections, each section including up to seven pairs of guns and as illustrated in Figure 12, the sections of the guns on either side of the machine have common bus bars and common transformers. As appears in Figures 13 and 14, each side of the machine is provided with five welding transformers 482, each of which is connected to a part of bus bars 484 and 486 one above the other as is illustrated in Figure 19. The transformer connections to the bus bars are staggered, that is the connection to the upper bus bar 484 for example is by a lead 488 (see Figure 12) extending to the left-hand end of the bus bar 484 while the other transformer lead 588 extends to the right-hand end of the lower bus bar 488. Thus by reason of the flexible connections 582 and 584 to the various welding guns from the bus bars 488 and 484 and the staggered connections the path of current travel from the transformer to any one welding gun is maintained substantially constant. The bus bars 484 and 488 are secured to their respective adjacent tables and those on the left-hand side of the machine (see Figure 20) are carried with the table in its movement but are connected to its transformers through flexible leads 588 and 588.

In order to cause successive engagement of the various welding guns in the various groups, fluid pressure is employed controlled by cam operated valves driven by a shaft having a step by step movement extending along the length of the machine. Such apparatus is illustrated in Figures 12, 14. 19 and 20. As illustrated in Figure 19, the

and thus while the seventh weld is being effected,

valve operating cam shaft is indicated by the reference character 510 and is driven from a motor 5l2 through a gear box 514 containing a Geneva movement, having substantially the same characteristics as that hereinabove described in connection with the press welder. The gear box is provided with a shaft 5 I 6 adapted to rotate at the rate of one revolution per second and carries a welding timer control in the formof cam and switch 5|8 and 520, respectively. Through. the Geneva movement which is located in the gear train between the shaft 515 and the valve operating cam shaft 5! the shaft 5| is caused to rotate in steps of 36 degrees in substantially a quarter'of one second and to remain stationary for the remainder of each second and to thereby make a complete revolution in ten seconds. Adjacent the valve operating cam shaft i0 is a plurality of groups of valves, five groups in all and each group of which contains seven valves 522, each havin cam followers 524 adapted to engage associated cams 525 located along the length of the cam shaft 5l8. The cams are angularly located withrrespect to one another by an angle of 36 degrees and the effective portion of the 'cam is adapted to lift the rocker arm 524 and lower the same during 36 degrees of revolution of the shaft or less. Each group of valves is mounted upon a manifold bracket 528 secured upon the table 524 and each manifold has a connection with each valve mounted thereupon and all manifolds are connected through a pipe line 538to a common source of fluid pressure. The valves 5 22 and the rockers 524 and other details thereof are substantially identical to the valves 248 appearing in Figure 8 in conjunction with the press welder. In Figure 12 some of the valves have been removed or partially removed in two of the groups in order to illustrate their position with respect to the cam shaft 5). Each of the valves, as has previously been described, is connected to a pair of opposed weldingguns through connections as diagrammatically illustrated in Figure 12 by the dot-dash lines 532, 534, 538 and by connections shown in full in Figure 20 hearing the same numerals. It will be understood that the pipe lines 535 and 532 for causing engagement of the welding electrodes of a pair of guns are connected in parallel to one side of the valve and are adapted to be connected to the high pressure source during such interval as the lobe of the cam raises the rocker 524 of the valve. The pipe lines 534 and 538 extend from the other side of the valve and are adapted to connect the welding guns with high pressure fluid to separate the pair of guns at such time as the rocker arm 524 is not in engagement with the lobe of its cam 525. Thus through seven successive steps of movement of the cam shaft all the pairs of welding guns may be caused to engage the work. During each step of such movement and while certain pairs of guns are in engagement with the i work, one pair being located in each group, all

the welding transformers areenergized by the cam 5| 8 to cause the flow of welding current to I effect ten welds provided, ofcourse, that a pair of welding guns are actuated in each group, it being'understood that because of the shape of the workpiece the number, of pairs of guns in any group may be less than the seven for which provision is made in the groups of valves, each group. of which contains seven valves. For example, the flrst, second and fifth groups from left to right of Figure 12 contain six pairs of welding uns whereas the third and fourth contain seven in the ram operated switch M9.

only two pairs of guns will be in engagement with the work and thus only four welds effected, although all ten transformers may be energized.

To control the operation of the machine automatically, the cam shaft 5! beyond the end bearing 540 (see Fig. 14) is provided with an exten sion carrying a pair of cams 542 and 544, the cam 542 operating a valve 545 and the earn 544 operating a switch 548 adapted to out off the current to the cam shaft motor 552 after completion of all the welds. The valve 545 operat ing prior to the switch 548 is adapted to supply through the pipe line 550 fluid pressure to am operating cylinder 552 of the valve 485 to cause the same to actuate so as to effect lateral movement of the table 425 away from the work, or in other words, to supply fluid pressure to the lefthand end of the cylinder'452 as illustrated in Figure 19. After a new workpiece is inserted into the machine and the table 425 moved into proper welding position with respect to the workpiece by manually operating the valve 188, the table, as it reaches the end of its lateral movement, actuates a double pole switch 554 through the cam 555, which switch controls the starting of the cam shaft operating motor 512 as well as the establishing of current connections to the welding transformers. The motor 5!: is provided with a brake 558 which is adapted to stop the same immediately upon the deenergization thereof.

For the automatic pperation of the apparatus, the wiring diagram may have the arrangement as illustrated in Figure 21. As shown therein a source of three-phase current appears as at 595 which is adapted to operate the valve cam shaft operating motor 5| 2 through the magnetically controlled relay 588. The control of this relay is effected through a starting button and the table operated switch 554 which energizcs the magnet 58! of the relay 598, see Figure 19. The table operated switch also'closes the circuit to the welding transformer timer 102 which is in circuit with the cam operated switch 525 shown in Figure 19. Thus upon the table moving to the proper position for welding the motor M2 is set in motion and at the same time the timer is connected so as to cause the welding transformers to be energized upon each impulse produced by the cam operated switch 528. Upon the completion of all the welds the table is separated from thework by reason of the cam operated valve 545 and upon the separation of the table, switch 554 is opened causing termination of the supply of current to the welding transformer. Subsequently the cam operated switch 548 is actuated momentarily opening the stop circuit for the motor M2 by breaking the circuit to the magnet 589 of the relay 558 causployed to close the timing circuit and a separate table operated switch 521 is employed to start the valve operating cam shaft motor 248. will, of .course, app ar that the circuit shown in Figure 21 may be readily applied to the press welder by employing a two-pole switch such as 554 in place of the switch 32I and by eliminati of the channel member. completes its lowering movement, the valve 308 will readily appear. With the'press welder open as is illustrated in Figure 2 a cap strip 33 is inserted and latched in place by the latch members l6 and a channel member 32 inserted in the U-shaped guides 58. vWhile in general the channel members are pressed to shape and are supposed to fit within the U-shaped guides 58, in practice it is often only possible to partially insert the channel member into such position and it is pushed into place upon the lowering of the ram, the cheek members 58 of the guides correctly spacing the flanges of the channel member so as to correctly align with the cap strip 32. The control lever 298 is then lowered to the position shown in Figure 1 shifting the valve 286 to admit fluid pressure to the cylinder 46 lowering the ram 40 bringing the central portion of the cap strip into contact with the central portion of the channel member and by the weight thereof urging the channel member into position in the guides 58. Thereafter the remainder of the ram including the dies 58 and lower forming the cap strip around the contour As the ram nearly is tripped operatin the valve 310 to cause fluid pressure to enter the table operating cylinders I20 causing the tables to move toward one another and placing the welding guns in proper welding position. As the table 94 moves into position, the switch 32! is actuated setting the motor 2H) in operation, rotating the timer cam H8 at the rate of one revolution per second and the valve operating cam shafts 228-234, the latter being given a step-by-step movement, each stepbeing effected in the time of a second. Upon the lowering of the ram, the switch 319 is closed and thereafter the welding transformers v2M are all energized each time the timer cam 2 l8 makes a revolution, the duration of energization depending upon the setting of the welding timer which may be varied to accommodate dif-,

ferent thicknesses of material and welding current required. cam shafts 228-234 the valves controlling the various-welding guns are sequentially actuated and the various welds, twelve in number for each group, effected between the flanges of the channel member and the cap strip. Upon the completion of the welds and the further rotation of the cam shaft 228, the valve 280 is actuated which controls the operation of the valve 3I0 causing the table operating cylinders I20 to separate the tables. Shortly there-after and before a complete revolution of the cam shaft 228, the cam operated switch 214 is actuatedcutting off the supply of current to the motor 210 whereupon the brake 2 is applied immediately stopping the cam shaft. Simultaneous with the operation of the valve 3l0 the hand c'ontrol lever 298 is returned to the upper position as shownin dotted lines in Figure. l by reason of pressure ap- Through the operation ofthe plied to cylinder 3 and the ram is lifted to the position shown in Figure 2. The channel member may then be'ejected by actuation of the ejecting cylinders 320 through actuation of the pedalcontrolled valve 326 and the channel memher and cap strip welded together at spaced points may then beremoved from the machine. The channel member and cap strip are thereafter placed in a re-welder 356, the table 426 of the re-welder being separated as is shown in Figure 15 to permit the insertion of the channel member and cap strip. It will be observed that From the foregoing description the operation in inserting the channel member in the rewelder it is inverted, thus simplifying therewelder by not requiring the provision of space for the channel member within the machine. Upon insertion of the channel member upon the guide 4 l8 and in the position shown in Figure 15, the manual valve 480 may be operated energizing the table moving cylinders 452 and causing the table 426 to move to the position shown in Figurel6 and also as shown in Figures 12, 16, 19 and 20. Upon the table 426 moving to the position shown in these figures and assuming the starting button 108 being closed, the cam operated switch 554 is actuated closing a circuit to the motor H2 and setting the cam shaft 5H! in operation as well as the timer shaft 5l6. At the same time the switch 554 completes a circuit to the timer which is then actuated at the rate of one impulse per second by the cam 5l8 and the timer switch 520. The shaft 5|0 simultaneously commences its step-by-step movement at the rate of one step per second effecting the welds of the various groups, the welds of each being effected in sequence and upon completion of the welds the cam operated valve 546 causes the table 426 to separate and thereafter the cam switch 548 is actuated opening the connection to the motor 5l2 and applying its brake 558. As the table 426 separates, the switch 554 is opened, opening the circuit to the welding timer and cutting off the further supply of welding impulses to the bus bars and welding electrodes by the welding transformers. The channel member and its cap strip is then removed from the re-welder 353 and inserted in a re-welder 358 whereupon the same sequence of operations is repeated, and upon the completion of all the welds to be effected in the re-wclder 358, the channel member and cap strip are removed therefrom and placed in the rewelder 380 where the operation is again repeated. It will be understood that the position of the welding guns for the various re-welders as well as the welding guns of the press welder will be such as to finally effect a predesired uniform arrangement of spot welds along the flanges of the channel membr and the cap strip and that suitable guides such as 353 will be provided in conjunction with each of the re-welders so as to assure the positioning of the channel member and its cap strip in the correct position longitudinally with respect to the welding guns.

Since it will be observed that there are a greater number of operations to be performed in conjunction with the press welder, that is the same must be loaded not only with a channel member but also a cap strip and that time is taken for the operation of the ram in pressing the capstrip into shape about the channel member, the number of welds effected by the press welder are reduced in number so that over-all operation of the press welder may have a time substantially that of the re-welders. This is accomplished by causing the press welder to effect only six welds per group whereas the re-welders in some instances effect seven welds per group. Thus the time interval of one second is saved to allow the operators a sufficient time to perform the additional steps of loading which are required of them. By such means the press welders and rewelders are adapted to be operated in substantially the same length of time so that channel members may be fed through the sequence of machines in a smooth orderly fashion. I

It will appear that in both the press welder and the re-welders the welding guns depend where the curvature appears concave. This permits the closer spacing of the" welding guns where the curvature is concave than where the curvature is convex. However, when the channelmember is turned upside down as it is in placing the same in the re-welders, the convex curvature in reality becomes concave and the concave curvature becomes convex thus resulting in the welding guns being crowded at points on the re-welder where space was ample in the press welder. Thus by turning over the channel member as it progresses from the press welder to the re-welders, it is possible to supply the welds in great number and close spacing where greater than normal spacing is required in the press welder. Thus considerable advantage is present in providing the welding guns with the bulk thereof on one side of the flange to be welded and in reversing the channel'as it progresses through the series of machines.

While the apparatus has been described as a series of machines for accomplishing a series of operations and producing a finished box girder, it will appear that great similarity exists between the press welder and the re-welders and that they are, in fact, modifications of one another, the press welder being modified from the re-welders by being .provided with duplicate table movement and the addition of the press feature.

In both machines, the blocks I00, I02 and I04, 428 and 434 may be quickly changed to suit changes in workpiece shape, and also the dies 68, HI and H may be readily removed and changed by removing the bolts 15..

It will thus appear that an automatic apparatus is provided for eflecting closely spaced spot welds along the length of channel members and the like, capable of precise duplication and rapid operation. The apparatus by varying the air pressure on the welding guns and by varying the current as well as the time for welding is capable of great flexibility and adaptability for different thicknesses of metal to be worked upon. Further by changing the shape of the blocks located upon the table and upon which the welding guns are positioned, the apparatus may be readily changed to accommodate changes in shape of the flanged members or workpieces as may be necessary. The apparatus is rugged, repairs such as are necessary due to operation are readily effected without dismantling the entire machine, and duplication ofwork is assured. In practice apparatus such as herein described is capable of= effecting over two hundred uniform sound spot welds in less than flfteen seconds.

While the apparatus has been illustrated as effecting one weld per second, and a complete machine cycle of ten seconds, it will appear obvious that variationsmay be made in time'cf y r effecting a weld, as well as the number eflfected per machine cycle. Further, the time relation I between pressure build up, welding time, dwell and release'may be changed to suit conditions and the pressure employed may be varied to suit changes in thickness of metal operated upon.

It will also appear from Figs. land 2 that concave portions of the workpiece are susceptible of being welded at close points because of lack of interference from the bulk of the welding guns depending below, andthis is especially desirable since the cap strip must be welded sufflciently frequently along concave curvature to assure its close conformation to the channel member, and to prevent it from arranging itself inchords from weld to weld, which would, if welds were spaced too far apart, result in space between the cap strip and channel. Where the curvature is convex, this obviously is not necessary and the weld spacing may be relatively great.

Though only one example of apparatus is disclosed, however the apparatus being composed of modified forms of a generic structure, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be embodied in various mechanical forms. As many changes in construction, operation and arrangement of the mechanism and parts may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as will be well understood by those skilled in the art, reference will be had to the appended claims for a definition of the limits of the invention.

This invention relates principally to apparatus having spot welding electrodes of the floating type, that is, in which each electrode is adapted to be movable so that where a number of pairs of separate electrodes are used, as in spot welding, the pressure transmitted to the work by each pair of electrodes will be uniform with the pressure transmitted by each other pair of electrodes to obtain uniformity in the work irrespective of whether the work be of precisely uniform thickness and whether the electrodes are each of exactly the same length. The use of tables, as described, which are capable of being relatively separated laterally to allow the work to be in serted and the pressing ram to operate, and are then adapted to be automatically closed in response to the completion of the ramming operation, facilitates insertion of the work as well as shortening the time necessary for a cycle of operation. Each welding gun contains a fluid pressure device, and is compact since the pressure piston and cylinder are arranged vertically within the gun for direct cooperation with the welding electrodes ,to avoid any diminution in the power transmitted to the electrodes by the fluid pressure piston and cylinder. The ease of removing any gun upon removal of the electrical and fluid pressure connections aids the rapid operation and servicing of this device.

Certain features of the machines as illustrated,

and described are claimed in applicant's application Serial No. 291,838, for Press welding machine, filed August 25, 1939, now Patent No. 2,319,095, dated May 11, 1943, of which the present application is a division. The disclosed welding gun and its details form the subject matter of applicants application Serial No. 408,418, for Welding gun, filed August 27, 1941, now Patent No. 2,341,133, dated February 8, 1944, which is another division of the aforesaid parent application.

What is claimed is:

1., The method of welding a member such as a cover plate on a second member such as a longitudinal flanged channel member by a plurality of closely spaced spot welds, said members having a reverse curve along the length thereof, resulting in convex portions and concave portions, which comprises effecting a plurality of closely spaced welds along the concave portion with apparatus arranged normal to the curvature and the bulk 

